The Finer Arts of Cruelty
by H7
Summary: [Dedicated to Canihavea-Soda] After eight years, Link finally returns to Hyrule. Sheik thinks about how he treated Link during Ganondof's reign, and tries to make ammends. (Post MM, AU, slight spoilers, Sheik as his own character, yaoi)
1. Chapter I : Found Again

  
  
**The Fine Arts of Cruelty  
  
**_Chapter I - Found again_  
  
by H7  
  
----------  
  
_Sheik P.O.V_  
  
Disclaimer : I don't own Legend of Zelda. . .I don't own Sheik, or Link, or Zelda, or Malon, or the Castle Guards, or Impa, or Talon. . .(need I go on?)  
  
Warnings : This story has Yaoi (malexmale) in it, relatively light for this chaper, but it shall progress as the chapters increase, as will the violence, gore, and cussing. You have been warned.

Oh, and this one shot doesn't really have anything to do with my other stories, as in this Sheik is his own character. It takes place about eight years after Link left for Termina, but the setting is in Hyrule. You could say that this is a slightly AU story to Trial of a Man, if Sheik were his own character in the OOT part of that, I suppose. Whatever, on to the story!  
  
[_Blah blah blah,_] - thoughts.

_Blah blah blah. . ._ - flashbacks 

----------  
  
He finally came back.  
  
Eight years ago, the Hero of Time left us, heading to search for his fairy friend, Navi.  
  
He didn't return. Not until just four hours ago.  
  
When he left, so long ago, I didn't get a chance to say good-bye. . .How could I? He thought I was the Princess (something I hated her dearly for afterward, lying to him like that), and I am of the Shadowfolk. Those who are not to be seen. I am to be invisible, emotionless, high upon some altar above all the other races, not to be touched - only seen, never heard.  
  
That's why when he left, I didn't even wish him farewell. I thought that he would return soon enough - he was just going into the forest to search for his fairy. How could I have guessed how long he would be absent from these lands?  
  
How could I have even begun to comprehend what it would be like without him around? I was. . .cruel to him during Ganon's reign, I know and freely admit that, though it pains me to think that way. Yes, I was cruel. A song, a few words of advice or direction, and then I was gone again, leaving him behind in the dust, always with that face on. The expression that begged me to stay, not leave him alone.  
  
I didn't look back a second time.  
  
While he was gone, I truly began to understand some things. . .I missed him, really. . .I was truly alone now, except for my mother and my duty, but. . .It is those things that I have lived for all this time, and I realized that in truth that they were all I really needed. . .But that doesn't mean I didn't miss the cheerful Link, even if I hardly ever saw him.  
  
Not to say I saw him often during Ganon's reign, either.  
  
Cruel. . .Indeed, I was. . .I was ignorant to avoid him so. . .To neglect him, when he so needed a friend. . .I was stupid. . .He was innocent, unsure of himself in a new world, and I left him to his own devices.  
  
[_He had a fairy. . .I thought that she could guide him. . ._]  
  
Indeed, she could, but. . .She could not be his friend. No matter how long Link and Navi have been together, it could never have been a true friendship. She was his guardian, he her charge. She a fairy, he a man. She would never understand his thoughts, his feelings. . .  
  
[_I left an innocent man. . .boy. . .to rot away in this world without a friend. . ._]  
  
And that innocent boy shall _never_ return. . .  
  
I stare at Link from the corner of my eyes, taking in his new appearance while trying not to attract attention. It's hard not to, as he seems to be alert to everything that goes on around him. . .

He has changed so severely. . .It's still a shock, even after the first look.  
  
Link no longer wears that green tunic he used to, nor that hat of his. . .No, now he wears a loose black shirt with slightly baggy dark gray pants, and a lighter, ashen cloak that falls back, the edges dusting the stone floor. His hair seems paler now. . .as if drained of its life. It's almost white, and a bit longer too, now pulled back. His eyes are nearly dead, though he is often smiling, but. . .They are not real smiles. He smirks, he glares, he frowns, but he never truly smiles.  
  
His face itself is pale, and marked with little white scars, the deeper ones being more of a tanned color. . .And one larger one that runs midway across the bridge of his nose, one of the few remnants of color on his face. A strange brownish smear on his pale skin. His eyes, that strange color-  
  
[_The color of time. . ._]  
  
-now show so little emotion. . .They are like mirrors. . .They reflect everything, show nothing within. . .  
  
He is cockier than before, more arrogant, but something tells me that these last eight years were not kind to him. . .That he has now seen more fighting than I will in my entire lifetime. . .  
  
His eyes flicker to my direction, and I snap my gaze back forward, feeling strangely nervous, ashamed, guilty. . .  
  
[_And for what reason? You are a Sheikah! Stand tall! Feel NO emotion!_]  
  
The old words of advice given to me by my teachers do nothing for me this time. . .I rub the bridge of my nose in an attempt to relieve my exasperation, uncaring of those who see me do so. . .What does it matter? The Link I knew is _dead_. . .  
  
I knew that the instant I saw him. . .  
  
_"Come, my Queen, we must move before the monsters return," I begged, slightly frustrated with the Queen Zelda's wish to remain behind, and help the caravan we left when the creatures attacked. I would allow no such thing, however, despite her wishes. I could not risk the Queen's life for some farmers and some soldiers.  
  
Lady Impa was there as well, so I had no doubt that they would all be fine.  
  
However, that didn't mean I had stopped worrying about ourselves.  
  
Though we had lost the main body of the monsters when we fled the camp, some had obviously followed our trail as we have already been ambushed twice, and my sixth sense is starting to tell me it won't be long before a third attack. . .  
  
The horse can barely stand this as it is. . .  
  
There's the sudden sound of movement in the bush, and without a second thought I've got my daggers drawn, falling into the battle stance I have become so accustomed to. . .  
  
Two large, white Wolfos leap from the bushes, high into the air to come down upon our heads. . .I'm already bleeding and the Queen herself has had a few close calls. . .Two Wolfos (especially white ones) are difficult enough to fight, and I only have daggers to protect myself and the Queen.  
  
The Wolfos begin to bear down upon me, and I raise my weapons in a vain attempt to block. . .Maybe by some luck. . .  
  
The first one comes down slightly quicker than the other, and I refuse the instinct that tells me that I must block the second one's teeth as well, lest I be struck. But, this isn't about me. . .  
  
It is my duty to protect the Queen. . .That comes before my own life. . .  
  
The Wolfos lands hard on my chest, knocking me backward to the ground and its teeth near my neck. I shove my dagger in the way, causing the Wolfos to yelp as its mouth clamps down on cold, hard metal. It flinches away slightly, and I ignore the other Wolfos, even as it approaches me. Instead I head toward the first one, praying that the second will go after me and leave the Queen alone. . .  
  
The first creature regains its courage and snarls at me, preparing to lunge. I fall back into that defensive stance again, but I don't even have enough time to complete the movement. The second Wolfos tackles me from behind, knocking me forward. I spin as I fly toward the ground, creating a nice gash in the shoulder of the Wolfos. The beast cries out as the blood flies, but it does not run away. . .  
  
The second Wolfos has me pinned, while the first simply walks around us in a stalking manner. I vaguely hear the Queen gasp in surprise, and I wish to run over to her, but I cannot. . .The monster on my back ways far to much, and I cannot attack it in my current position. . .  
  
I am helpless. . .  
  
"I am sorry, my Queen," I mumble, "I have failed you-"  
  
Before I can finish what I assume to be my dying words, the bushes part and out from the darkness emerges a form, sword in hand. The mysterious figure quickly dispatches of the Wolfos, one great slice hacking through muscle and bone. One attack to kill each one of them. . .  
  
The snarling has stopped now that the creatures are dead, and I find Zelda suddenly at my side, helping me up. . .I am not badly injured, but I accept her help as the sight I see nearly makes me fall again. . .  
  
An Elf stands before us, a cloth in one black gloved hand wiping the blood from the long but slender sword of white sliver that has saved my life. . .The man has pale hair, almost white, a deadly smirk of enjoyment on his face as he watches the blood soak the reddish cloth in his hands.   
  
He seems so. . .familiar. . .But I know no man who looks like this specter before us.  
  
"You should watch yourselves more carefully, especially you, your Highness," a slight frown crosses his face briefly, but it disappears soon after he puts the bloody cloth away and looks back up at us, "There are so many out there wishing for your demise, Princess."  
  
Princess?  
  
The Queen has held her title ever since the King died five years ago due to a bad sickness in his old age. . .Anyone who has lived in the regions of this land will know of that. . .Is this man a foreigner, then? No. . .No, he isn't. . .  
  
"Link?" the startled words release themselves from my lips, causing everyone's attention to come to me. . .I immediately try to straighten myself back up into a more dignified pose, and try to erase any emotion from them. My jaw, however, remains slack.  
  
The man (Link?) chuckles quietly, closing his eyes and bowing his head, "I was wondering if you would remember me. Now, if you wouldn't mind, what are you two doing here? Or were you just running to get some exercise?"  
  
"No. . ." my Queen answers, sounding more than slightly nervous, and terribly alone. I take a step closer, to act as a shield between her and this. . .This stranger, "We were traveling with some other guards, and several guests when we were attacked. Sheik helped me escape. . ." the Queen Zelda ends that with a sad note, making me realize just how hard it was for her to leave our allies behind.  
  
"Sheikah," he begins, attracting my attention with the strange words. He never would have addressed me in such a manner. . .before. . ."Do you think you can get the Princess safely to the castle? It isn't much farther."  
  
"And what is it that you will do?" I find the venom filled words leaving my lips without a second thought. At first I expect Link to be surprised by my rudeness toward him, but. . .It doesn't even look like he noticed.  
  
"I will return to your comrades," he replies, his voice unbelievably cold. I can see the Queen shiver in disgust to my right, "After all, they may need some help." He turns away from us, walking back toward the bush from whence he came.  
  
"Do you go to save them, or do you go for bloodshed?" Zelda's words ring hard and cold from beside me.  
  
Link stops at her voice, but he does not turn around. After a moment's hesitation (a moment that seems more like an eternity) he continues into the black, leaving us alone once more.  
_  
  
I thought that I might not see him again. He had just run off into the wilderness, alone, to save a group of people that myself, Lady Impa, and ten guards could not.  
  
It was a large surprise when he walked in through the large doors at the front of the royal hall. He moved with a grace I had never seen in anyone before, as if nothing could touch him. . .Or as if he didn't care. There was a confidence that filled the air around him, strong enough to be called arrogance, but I did not doubt him.  
  
For only an hour after he returned, so did the rest of the guards and guests.  
  
During the dinner, I pulled Lady Impa off to the side discreetly for her opinion on this change.  
  
_"Lady Impa," I whisper, the two of us hidden from prying eyes in an alcove in the great stone walls, "What happened?"  
  
"Dear Sheik," she murmurs slowly, trying so hard to let her voice reveal to me all the love any mother has for her child, emotions she was forbidden to show, save for the simple gesture of her hand laying down on my shoulder, "I am deeply worried. . ."  
  
"What did he do?" I ask as she withdraws her hand.  
  
"He slaughtered our enemies without so much as a second thought," she answers, looking down on me with only the faintest tinge of sorrow in her eyes, "It was a merciless battle. We were fighting the beasts in a grueling fight, and then suddenly, there was chaos. He appeared, jumping into the clearing with his sword swinging, and soon there was nothing left of our foe. . .just puddles of blood and strewn corpses. . ."  
  
"He has changed so much. . ." I whisper.  
  
"So, he is Link, then?" I look up at her to see a deep expression hidden in her eyes, one that I cannot place, "I was afraid so. . ."  
  
"You recognized him, too?"  
  
"Not at first, but. . .Once he finished with the creatures, I noticed the severe similarities. I assume the Queen knows, as well. . .I saw how pale she was, when we arrived."  
  
"She has not taken the news well," I state, glancing off toward the table. Zelda sits at the head of it, and right beside her this. . .this mockery of the Hero of Time. What could change a man so?  
  
"Have you?" my mother asks, quickly redrawing my attention to her, "How have you taken this development?"  
  
"What does it matter how I take it? I am a Sheikah, and-"  
  
"How do you, as a person - not a guard - react to this? Surely you must have some thoughts?"  
  
"I. . ." I let my gaze drop and look away, back to the hall where the people dine, "I am. . . disturbed. This does not bode well with me. . .I'm not even sure if he remembers me."  
  
"Oh? And why is that?"  
  
"I spoke briefly with him earlier. He simply called me Sheikah, with no sound of recognition in his tone."  
  
Lady Impa is quiet for a moment, that hand descending slowly on to my shoulders, which feel so heavy with a burden that I have not yet identified, ". . .Perhaps he is unsure. I do recall that Zelda devised a disguise, and pretended that she was you. Maybe he thinks that since Zelda and you are both walking around, two separate entities, that you are some other Sheikah."  
  
"Perhaps," I agree, but the words have no real belief behind them.  
  
"See him tonight then. . .I doubt he will be asleep early."  
  
"But why? This has nothing to do with me-"  
  
"But it does. . .I had always hoped you would at least talk to him, outside of your duties, but. . ." My mother looks up over my head, toward Link, "You never went near him, other than to give him what was necessary for his quest."  
  
"It wasn't that I didn't want to. . .But it-"   
  
"Was not your duty?" Lady Impa finishes, and I nod.  
  
"Yes. . .I couldn't be friends with him. . .You know that as well as I. . ."  
  
"But, my dear Sheik, who ever said you had to remain a Sheikah?" I whip about to face her, looking for insults or tests, but all I find in her eyes is love, "Nothing holds you to this position, my child. . .You could leave."  
  
My gaze drops, "Not without dishonor."  
  
"But no man can live without friendship. . .Sometimes, there are more important things, than honor. . ."  
  
_  
I had denied Link of friendship during Ganon's reign. . .Friendship, or maybe something more. I never was able to figure out what I felt about him, as I never gave myself the chance. A few words, a song, and I would once again disappear. . .  
  
It may have been the gravest mistake I have ever made.  
  
He tried to come to me once, to ask me for friendship. I had been desperately avoiding the issue since he had awakened, but. . .That time I was cornered, and so all I could do was tell him the truth. . .  
  
_"Sheik! Please, wait!"  
  
I lowered the hand with the Deku nut in it, fixing my crimson gaze back on to his sapphire one. He runs up to me, trying to make it before I change my mind and leave anyway, but. . .I shall let him talk. It would be best to make sure the Hero's questions are all answered, lest trouble arise from simple misunderstandings.  
  
"Yes. . .?"  
  
"Please, I need to know something. . ."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Why. . .why do you always go?"  
  
"It is my duty to make sure you know what is necessary, and then leave."  
  
"But. . .do you have to?"  
  
"Hero, if this is about assistance, you must be able to clear the temples on your own. I cannot help you-"   
  
"That's not what this is about!" He shouts loudly, his eyes filled with anger and his mouth set into a thin line of determination, "That's not what this is all about. . ."  
  
"Then what is it about? If it's about you being lonely, I guess I can understand, but you are an adult now, Hero, and you must act like one. I realize that you have been awakened in time to see the suffering of your friends, and now none of them recognize you, as its been seven years. But I cannot help you with that. I have a duty to do, just as you do. I cannot remain about just to be your 'friend', there are far more important things. . .Need I remind you of the farm girl?"  
  
"No. . .No, you don't. . ." He mutters, but I'm not sure if his quiet words are in submission, or denial.  
  
"This is my duty, Hero. Nothing more." I wait for a further argument, but he simple turns away in silence. I give him a moment, hoping for a few more words to pass between us, maybe as a chance to right the harsh words I have laid upon him. When he says nothing else, I take a few steps back, and again raise the Deku nut.  
  
_  
That would be the last time I was to see him in peaceful circumstances for a long time.  
  
And now. . .After everything that has happened, I stand on a balcony, beside the Queen, with the Hero only a few steps to my right and back a bit. When the Queen dismisses herself I give her a brief nod, barely paying any attention to anything except for the Hero. . .Or, what's left of him.  
  
The silence is thick and cold, though I don't believe Link even notices. He's just standing there, his arms crossed, looking out at the night sky. The light of the torches behind us causes his hair to gleam brightly, giving his face an unearthly shadow. There's a half formed smirk on his lips, and his eyes shine with a cold light.  
  
I assume he notices my gaze upon him, as he turns to face me, and almost reluctantly I do the same. . .Maybe it's time I apologized. . .  
  
"Hero. . .Link, I-"  
  
"So. . .You are your own person, are you?" He looks over me, studying me, "You and the Princ. . .The Queen _lied_ to me, didn't you?"  
  
I want to tell him that it wasn't to hurt him, but to protect her Majesty, but no words escape my lips. Dumbly, I nod my head, "Yes. . ."  
  
"Is there something you wish to talk about? Or are you just standing around for no real reason?"  
  
"I. . .I apologize for my behavior back during Ganondorf's reign. . .I was foolish, selfish, and blind to the actions I committed and their effects on the people around. Unfortunately. . .I was cruel to you, as well. . .And. . ."  
  
"And _what_?"  
  
I drag my gaze upward from the floor it was resting on. He has not changed positions, nor has any new emotions appeared in his eyes. . .Why is it that I feel like I am talking to a statue? "I . . .I ask for your forgiveness, and. . .I was hoping. . .Could we. . .be friends?"  
  
I watch as a sliver of amused surprise enters his eyes, and after a moment's hesitation he opens his mouth. But instead of speaking, he simply throws back his head, and laughs, his voice filled with a dark mirth, and it is only now that I truly realize that the Hero of Time I knew, Link, the Kokiri, is dead. . .  
  
. . .Was replaced by this. . .Monster. . .  
  
And it is all my fault. . .  
  
---------------  
  
_A/N :  
  
Well. . .I think this turned out okay, I'm not sure though. . .  
  
I hoped you liked it. . .I just got the idea after reading a lot of fics where Sheik is really mean toward Link, or just downright cruel. . .  
  
If the feedback turns out to be rather negative on this, then I will rewrite it, so if you wish for such a thing, just let me know through a review or email.  
  
Ah, yes, the line about Link's eyes being the color of time, well, I know that is not completely original. I once read it in Lady Rose's 'The Return', a long time ago, and I asked permission to use it. I got an email back, saying that I could, so that's all good.  
  
Um, let's see. . .Well, please put your thoughts into a review, and I'll adjust the fic accordingly, if need be.   
  
I think that's it, so. . .See you all later! _


	2. Chapter II : Castle Gossip

**The Finer Arts of Cruelty**  
  
_Chapter II - Castle Gossip_  
  
by H7  
  
----------  
  
Sheik P.O.V  
  
Disclaimer : I don't own Legend of Zelda. . .I don't own Sheik, or Link, or Zelda, or Malon, or the Castle Guards, or Impa, or Talon. . .(need I go on?)  
  
Warnings : This story contains yaoi and violence, gore, and language. The rating of this story may eventually increase to an 'r' rating.  
  
[_Blah blah blah,_] - thoughts.  
  
_Blah blah blah. . ._ - flashbacks  
  
---------  
  
". . .That is all for today."  
  
I nod, inwardly sighing with relief. Ever since the events of this evening (over ten hours ago), I have been sent on a wild goose chase, hunting down hints and leads as to any information about the attack on the Queen and her entourage.  
  
As I said, it has been nothing but a wild goose chase.  
  
I glance up briefly at my Queen, and she motions for me to stand. I do so, trying to keep my movements respectful - I do not wish to anger her. . .Not that the Queen Zelda is easy to anger. In fact, it has been tried, by many a cunning diplomat, to force her into unreasonable anger.  
  
They've never succeeded.  
  
Well. . .Except that one time, but the situation was more than understandable.  
  
The Hero was a touchy subject for a long time with the Queen, and it was no surprise to anyone that she raged when someone put forth the idea that he could be the traitor amongst our ranks.  
  
It was also an impossible theory, as the Hero has only just come back recently.  
  
He couldn't have been behind the treachery. . .He was not here, and none of the Sheikah spies reported seeing him in any part of the country. . .Whoever has been selling us out has hidden himself well.  
  
My Queen looks deeply into my eyes, her soul searching mine. I force myself to loose the steel that has formed there, created by such dismal thoughts of war.  
  
"Sheik?" she asks, and for one moment I almost cringe behind my cowl, fearing yet more work even though the sun is already appearing on the horizon, ". . .Perhaps you should go talk with Lady Impa. . .I hear she wants to speak to you."  
  
I nod briskly, giving my Queen a bow as I leave. If my mother has words to exchange with me. . . It worries me slightly, as I know things are not good right now - almost any news is going to be bad news, or focused on moral issues and Link.  
  
That last thought sends a shudder of guilt throughout my being, and though not in the presence of anyone, I advert my eyes down to the ground.  
  
But. . .I really have no reason to be feeling guilty, right?  
  
[_Besides the fact you turned him, an innocent boy, into a monster? No, not really._]  
  
But that wasn't necessarily my fault, now was it? It could have been something else-  
  
_". . I cannot remain about just to be your 'friend', there are far more important things."_  
  
[_It was completely your fault._]  
  
I sigh lightly - almost soundlessly - beneath my cowl. Perhaps I have sinned. . .  
  
When I finally raise my eyes again, I realize that my feet have taken me directly to the entrance of my mother's quarters. Her's is right next to her Highness', while mine in lower in the castle, in the first basement. It will be a bit of a trek to get back down to the lower floors, but I do not have a shift in the morning, which means that I can get some rest.  
  
I raise my right hand to the door, tentatively knocking. My mother has always been a private person, and I have learned more than once the hard way not to enter without permission. My mother, loving as she is, can be very strict when rules are broken.  
  
"Enter," the words are heard but muffled by the door.  
  
I push open the door with a turn of the knob, and the old wood creaks in protest. On the other side is a rather homely setting - warm fire in a beautiful fireplace, a large bed, paintings on the walls. . .It doesn't look like the home of a Sheikah (we, by reputation, prefer to remain cold) but my mother is different than most. She, having been Zelda's nanny for over eighteen years, has become accustomed to politics and life out in the open, and has adjusted accordingly.  
  
A bare, cold room would cause unwanted suspicions.  
  
The Lady Impa greets me with a motherly smile, sitting on the edge of her bed still dressed in her guardian uniform. She gestures me to move over toward her, and sit down beside her. I do, feeling oddly timid.  
  
"You wished to speak with me, my Lady?"  
  
She turns her head away for one brief moment, and I know why. She has never appreciated the formal attitude that I have expressed toward her - everyone - but she knows that I am not about to give it up anytime soon. Over time, she learned to, for the most part, simply dismiss my behavior, no matter how proper it is.  
  
"How has your day been, son?"  
  
"There has been better," I reply, switching over to the Sheikah language, "The Queen asked me to check some of our connections. I found nothing. . .Very little at all." Back into the common tongue, "Yourself?"  
  
It is her turn to switch, and she does so in a hesitant manner, ". . .I was requested to monitor the Hero," she states, watching my expression carefully, ". . .He was acting oddly." I feel my face blanche beneath my guise.  
  
"How so?" I ask, my voice an unusual hushed whisper. She sighs heavily.  
  
". . .I am not sure. I did not report it with her Highness, as I have no definite proof. . .But I think that some one should be keeping an eye on him. . ."  
  
"You don't possibly mean me, do you?" My eyes narrow ever so slightly. That smile returns to her face.  
  
"Why not? _Who_ could I trust more than my very own son? I expect no less from you than I do from myself."  
  
"But. . .I, but. . ."  
  
"What? The_ Almighty_ Sheik, stuttering?" She smirks ever so lightly, and my frown deepens. My mother often tries to 'open' me up to the world around me, and supposedly mocking my pride somehow accomplishes this.  
  
"I'm_ afraid_ that I will have to _decline_, my Lady," I put extra emphasis on the word, just to watch her joyous mood crumble, "The Queen will most likely have me on duty tonight for the same reasons as yesterday, and thus I shall have no time to watch over the Hero." I almost spit the name out at the end, like some foul disease.  
  
My mother does not look overly shocked, but instead mildly. . .Upset. Sad. . .I don't know why she would be taking this so much to heart-  
  
"Then. . .If you will not accept this request from me. . .Will you at least see him? . . .He may not show it, but I am sure that he could use a little compassion-"  
  
"M'Lady, he brushed me off earlier. Laughed right in my face. He could use a little compassion on his part, but there's nothing-"  
  
". . .Please?" My gaze drops.  
  
". . ." I trace out the figures on her bed quilt with one finger, almost childishly. I find it strange for my mother, of all people, to have a warm pink quilt on her bed. . .I never figured her on for such colors, ". . .All right. . ."  
  
"Tonight, even?" She briefly glances out the window on the stone wall opposite the door, "Hm, it is later than I thought. . .But, you will see him?"  
  
"Yes," a pause, "I _promise_."  
  
"That's a good boy," she scruffs up my hair, "There's. . .I don't know anymore, but I do think that it will help him to see you."  
  
"I will see what I can do." That's a lie. . .Even if I wanted to, I doubt this. . .This Link will let me get close enough to find out what has happened in the eight years since he was last here.  
  
"Alright then," she says, giving me one of her warm smiles, "Be off, child."  
  
I begin to move toward the door, and just as I reach for the handle, I look back over my shoulder at my mother, who sits where she was before, looking a slight bit more tired.  
  
"M'La-. . .Mother?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"What's. . .What's wrong with him? What could have caused him to change so?"  
  
". . .I don't know. . .I don't know. . ."  
  
I accept the answer with a nod, and exit the room, shutting the door with a click.  
  
My feet soon begin to lead me down the familiar paths leading to the lower levels of the castle. It is a long trip, and maybe it is because of the time that I use that simple fact as a reason not to go to find the Hero. As guilty as I feel, I find no reason in going to see Link. . .After all, he didn't look too in need of help, to me.  
  
The marbled white hallways of this castle are grayed in the dark night, and oranged by the torches that line the halls. I pass several guards - all of whom give me strange looks - but I do not bother to hide my appearance. The Lady Impa made it clear that she wished for me to walk around normally, as other methods tend to frighten the guards and cause suspicion.  
  
As I round a corner, about to head down a flight of stairs, I hear voices at the bottom. . .As all Sheikah are trained to know everything about the guards, I easily recognize their voices. . . But with as late as it is, I do not bother to even form their names in my mind. Instead, I continue walking like it's no one's business but my own (and in a sense, that's true).  
  
"Did you see him?"  
  
"No, what's he like?"  
  
"Looks real freaky, I mean, almost unnatural." Ah, the uneducated speech of the lower guards. . . They seem to only know enough to act polite when given direct orders, but when amongst themselves, their way with words diminishes completely. The Lady Impa told me once that the castle is really the last place where people still use the more formal methods of speech.  
  
I wonder. . .Does Link talk this way now?  
  
"Really? Why'd they let him in?"  
  
"You didn't hear?"  
  
I ignore the two, and decide to just slink past them, allowing them to continue their conversation undisturbed. It does not matter to me what they talk about or whom, just as long as they are not asleep or dead in some corner.  
  
"No. . .You know I only work the night shift. . .I am always the last to hear these things."  
  
"Well, supposedly," a rustle of movement, and then a whisper that can't escape my sensitive ears.  
  
". . .He _saved _the _Queen_."  
  
My movements freeze and I go numb at the words.  
  
"_Really_?" An excited whisper, slowly gaining volume.  
  
"Yeah, yeah! I'm serious. Saved_ the entire group_!"  
  
"No way. . .What was he against?"  
  
"A pack of Wolfos and _two_ Stalfos."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"No way. . .That's like, impossible."  
  
"I'm not kidding you - does it look like I'm kidding you? I'm serious. . .Saved the Queen, the Lady Impa, _and _even that Sheikah boy, too."  
  
"Wow. . .Why do they trust him though? You said he looks unnatural."  
  
"Looks like a ghost, I tell ya. Just like some Goddess damned specter out of one of those old fairy tales. Just awful. Skinny, pale, his hair's nearly white-"  
  
"Yikes."  
  
"But that's not the least of it! He wears all black and I have yet to see him smile - it's creepy, mind you - but his eyes. Oh, they just stare back out at you!"  
  
"Why? Beady little things?"  
  
"Nah! It's just that. . .Everything else on him is so pale, but yet his eyes. . .They just about glow. I swear it! His eyes are unbelievably bright. Cold and condescending, mind you. Really much so. Always narrowed in hate, they are."  
  
"Then why do they let him in? Is the Queen repeating her father's - bless the old King's soul - mistake? He let in Ganondorf - this man seems no better."  
  
"They let him in because he's the Hero of Time, apparently."  
  
"No, it can't be. . .Not from what you say. The Hero was a good kid. . ."  
  
Sheik shook his head and began walking off again, still slinking in the shadows until he was out of ear shot. Those two - damn how their name's continued to escape him at the moment - were the gossipers of the castle. . .Of course, they were also a useful way of gathering the opinion of the guards. . .The knights, well, there was a harder deal. Usually had to listen in and watch each and every one of them for about four days. . .  
  
Down the final hallway to my tiny, cramped quarters, and I find my brain almost dead from the work I've done today. All I have is the echoing of words spoken running through my head, over and over and over, coupled with a now dull anger in the back of my mind. It's hard to make sense even of what I am supposed to be mad at.  
  
Maybe a good night sleep will let me think clearer. . .It's been a while since I've had a goodnight sleep. . .  
  
I push open the door of my little room, hardly larger than one of the cells in the basement. The walls are of cold grey stone, as is common in the basement levels in the castle, and of course, no window. I have very little decorating the place - a small dresser for clothes, a small bed, and a few little things that the Queen and my mother have gotten me over the years. It doesn't make an difference to me. . .Right now all that matters to me is the cold white sheets of the bed before me.  
  
I fall down without grace, without caring, burying my face deep into the pillow, and dream.  
  
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_A/N : So, finally chapter two of cruel is done. A bit short, but it is better than I planned it, I think. Anyway, please review!_


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